Tourniquet
by Dallas W
Summary: We all have demons to face, some of ours just happen to be more tangible than others. Eventual Charon/M!Lone Wanderer. Slightly AU.
1. Leather and Cigarettes

**AN: **This is sort of set in an alternate universe. The Lone Wanderer is evil, and is a chem fiend. He's probably seventeen years old? I can't really decide. But his father wasn't good, like the original story portayed. Ace was molested as a child by his father, hence his addiction to basically everything. Charon and Ace have sort of a "Love and Hate" friendship, which eventually spawns into something else, note the pairing. Haha.

Suggestions would be lovely, since this just sort of plopped out of my head today during class...

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><p>Nimble fingers were hastily thumbing the soaked matches, trying to summon a flame to life. The teen cursed under his breath, the cigarette limp between his lips. He tossed it aside angrily and came sloshing out of the irradiated pond, glaring down at a raider's corpse which floated harmlessly in the water near him. He picked through the raider's pockets and found a few caps and some psycho, stuffing them in his bag. He stomped out of the water, plopping down on the barren Earth and pulling his boots off, water escaping them and crashing down on the hot sand. Dogmeat had come bounding near him, slowly thumping his tail against the dirt as he watched Ace closely.<p>

"It's not safe here." Charon's raspy voice reminded him, and he peered up at the ghoul who was awkwardly attempting to stand in front of him, his legs badly wounded. _Probably crippled, _Ace thought, weighing the idea. He peered back up at the bridge, which had earlier been stacked with cars. Upon nearing the bridge, they had discovered it was infested with crazed raiders, one who had tossed a plasma grenade into the air. Ace hadn't even had time to think, merely standing and staring as it detonated in a blue flurry. He did however remember Charon yelling that it was going to blow, and then the force of the explosions knocking him off the bridge and into the water.

He scratched his head, feeling the moisoned locks inbetween his fingers, then recoiled when he felt a stinging pain. He flinched, then viewed his hand, which was soaked in blood. He blinked, and stared up at Charon's distorted ghoulish face. "I think..." He paused. "I hit my head." He said dumbly, after a few moments. The world became a little fuzzy and another one of the cars promptly exploded in the background, a mushroom cloud developing. Ace stood up, vision finally focusing on a tent not to far off the bank on the other side of the large pond. "Let's make camp there tonight," He stated, and they pushed onward. Dogmeat followed cautiously, whining at his two wounded companions, and following Ace like a shadow.

The tent was dusty and abandoned, two mattresses haphazardly set on the rocky ground. Picking the lock to a medical kit which had been carelssly left behind, Ace discovered a few stimpaks and a single syringe of Med-X. Ace handed the kit to Charon, keeping the drug to himself. Charon took it without a word, the tall ghoul's eyes flicking over the syringe. He knew what would happen next, but spoke not a complaint of it. Not that he really could, anyway. Sitting dizzily on one of the filthy mattresses, he rolled up his sleeveand took off his belt, wrapping it tightly around his arm. Pulling the cap off with his teeth, he pressed the needle into his vein and winced for a moment as the cool liquid invaded his system.

He sat back for a moment, breathing heavily and enjoying the high. The dull throbbing pain in his head was now a distant memory.

Eventually Charon's voice hazily made him snap out of it, and he frustratingly pulled himself up off of the dirty mattress. "You're wounded, you should heal yourself." Charon's voice cracked as he reminded the junkie, who could now feel the warmth of the blood descending on his neck. He could see the pale moonlight creeping through the tent flap, and pondered how long he had been there.

He found himself shivering uncontrollably, and between his teeth chattering, asked Charon to start a fire. Charon stood, not as wobbily as before and left the tent to search for trash to burn. Ace rubbed his hands together to generate a little warmth, and injected a few Stimpaks into the back of his head. He could feel the skin tingle a little, and felt better. The healing process would be sped up a little bit, anyway. Feeling his lids grow heavy with sleep, he felt himself drift off again.

He awoke a few hours later, his eyes taking a few moments to focus. Dogmeat licked his hand, whining and nuzzling his muzzle against the teen's ribs. The dog wanted food, obviously. Ace started to pull himself up tiredly from the hard, overused mattress, but stopped when he'd discovered a thick leather jacket draped over him. He pulled his oily green locks out of his face and stared at the reddish-tinted ghoul across from him. Flames lit up his face eerily, casting deep shadows in the hollows of his face. The fire sat in the middle of the tent, large rocks in a circle around it to keep it contained. Yet still, the flames licked up greedily for something to ensnare in their grasp.

The ghoul's cloudy eyes met his gaze finally, and he heard him clear the phlegm from his throat and ask, "Is there something you want?"

Ace pressed lips together, wetting them, and paused. He tossed the heavy jacket back to the ghoul, simply stating thanks.

The ghoul didn't reply, not that Ace had expected him to. Charon really wasn't the conversation type. Ace was already rummaging through his bag anyway, searching for something to feed Dogmeat with. Finally finding a hunk of mole rat meat, he handed it to the dog, who gently took it in his muzzle and went to the corner of the tent to scarf it down. Ace could feel eyes boring into his back, and when he turned, Charon quickly flicked his gaze away.

Not another word was said that night, but an uneasiness lingered between the pair.

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><p>R&amp;R! I could use suggestions.<p> 


	2. Suppress the Memories

**AN: Another chapter~! I really liked writing this one. It's a little gory, but nothing out of the ordinary for the game, I feel. **

**Charon becomes less, "Body-Gaurd" like later on in the chapters, for now I sort of just want to stick to the way he acts in the game. So... Yeah, haha.**

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><p>The ghoul snorted in disgust as the teen emptied the rest of the contents of his stomach onto the ground, and absentmindedly wondered if it was Ace's body's last ditch effort to rid itself of the toxins he pumped into it on a daily basis. Charon grumbled and stepped outside the tent, feeling antsy and ready to get on the move. The Wasteland was quiet, a little windy but nothing untolerable. The clouds hung heavy in the sky, blocking the sun at the moment. He picked at a little flesh that had begun to peel off on his arm, and outstretched them after he'd pulled it away. He looked over the reddish muscle and the few patches of pale skin that was diminishing on his body, and could scarcely remember a time when he was smoothskin.<p>

Hearing a groan emit from the tent that signaled Ace was stirring, the tall ghoul walked back inside the tent. "Charon," Ace wheezed, sitting up and resting his head on his knees.

"Yes?" Charon said in his empty voice. "What is it you require?"

"Cut the serve me crap..." Ace hissed, shuddering for a moment, resisting the urge to dry heave. Charon sighed, a rather raspy exhale that escaped his lips. "There's a..." Ace paused, catching his breath, "Detox pill in my bag. Will you grab it? I can't fuckin' see." The ghoul sat down on the mattress next to him, poking through the bag to find the pill. Narrowly avoiding jabbing himself with a used needle that had been tossed in there from yesterday, he finally found the little blue pill. "Here it-" Charon began, but was cut off when Ace turned and began to vomit again. He groaned and his head lolled over and rested against Charon's thigh.

The reddish ghoul cringed from the sudden contact, a little pain flaring up in his legs from the blast yesterday, but didn't move. Another sigh escaped his cracked lips...

Today was going to be a _long_ day.

Charon watched as Ace plucked bullets and caps from a dead raider's body as if he were picking flowers. They had reached what had looked like what used to be a neighborhood in the past, a playground in the center with a tall, rusted red rocket in the middle of it all. The breeze had carried through it, and it creaked a little in protest. Ace strolled along past it, the dog following at his heels. Charon scanned the area for a moment, wrist twitching as he noticed a Protectron clunking around the circular road. Ace must have determined it wasn't hostile, because he walked up to it and rapped his his wrist against the side of its' head. "Move a-long please," it's voice crackled, as it continued on its' never-ending circular path through the destroyed little cul-de-sac.

Ace turned back, flashing Charon a smile and imitating the robot for a moment before entering a store on the block. Charon followed, feeling a little uneasy about how quiet it was here. No raiders, not a single soul to be seen. Then who had set up the Protectron? Or had it simply been aimlessly walking like this since before the war? Tossing the thoughts, he entered the store.

The green haired teen was on the ground, peering underneath a hot plate and snipping wires with his switch. They appeared to be linked to some explosives, but the ghoul didn't really know a lot about them. He shifted his weight to his right foot while he watched the boy hastily work, a little sweat rolling down his forehead. The dog sat next to him obediently, eyes excitedly flicking round the room.

"Looks like the work of raiders," Ace stated, disarming the traps finally. "I'm not sure if I got all of them, so stay sharp." He was already pulling Sugar Bombs off the shelves that were all lined up in a row, and filling up his bag. "I'm going to make a killing with that ghoul in Metro!" He said excitedly, no doubt the idea of possibly getting to try the Ultrajet they were brewing in that Hell hole. Charon hazily recalled the first time they had entered Metro, and the way the two junkie ghouls had reacted to him. "You're one ugly son-of-a-bitch!" One of them had exclaimed, and they had laughed in a cackling wheeze. The comment had even earned a grin from Ace, furthering Charon's annoyance.

"I'm ready when you are." Ace said, looking up at the ghoul's sunken in face and snapping him from his thoughts.

"Let us proceed, then." Charon replied half-heartedly.

An explosion erupted outside, causing the two of them to fall silent. The building shook on its' already decaying foundation, and dust and other debris fell from the ceiling and fogged up the room. Dogmeat let out a low growl and stood by the door, snarling. Hollering and one loud, shrill scream filled the air, meaning only one thing...

Raiders.

They stood beside each other, watching as a nude woman ran screaming toward the playground. A gang of raiders slowly trotted after her, whistling and chanting together. Ace pulled his green tinged hair from his eyes and tucked the locks behind his ear, a twisted smile growing on his face. "What do you wish to do?" Charon asked, already knowing the answer. The pale-skinned boy didn't budge, his glassy blue eyes following the woman as she tumbled to the ground and the raiders seized her like a pack of feral dogs. One lifted her up and flammed a fist into her face. He must of had a pair of spiked knuckles on, because it stripped the flesh right off as his fist collided with her. She cried out, and they let her fall to the ground.

A couple danced around in excitement as they started their usual routine, one dragging a hook behind them to impale her with. The laughter started up in a chorus, sounding like animals in the night. Ace reached in his back pocket and pulled out a pulse grenade, examining it in the palm of his hand for a moment. He started towards the middle of the street, and pulled the pin out. The green-haired fiend tossed it to the middle of the playground, and one of the raiders yelled in terror. "What the hell?" One piped up, and a defeaning gasp from the group was heard before it detonated.

Limbs and gore flew through the air, and a little blood splattered on Ace's face. He shut his eyes, while a crippled raider made a mad dash for him. It was all in vain though, as Charon was a step ahead of him and blew the man's head to a bloody stump with his shotgun. A few tried to flee and Charon quickly picked them off one by one without even breaking a sweat. He finally slung the gun in its' usual position behind his back, and glanced at Ace, who had ventured to the center of the playground, and was kneeling before the woman.

"Thank you," She said softly, a little blood trickling from her pouty lips. Her green eyes were dull, and probably moments from lifelessness. Ace's lips were pressed in a thin line, the smell of her burned flesh clogging his nostrils.

"Are you an angel?" She sputtered, tears welling in the corners of her eyes. She reached for his face, caressing his cheek. Ace froze for a moment, the touch turning his blood to ice in his veins. His thoughts traced back, memories pushing forward.

_"My Angel, my sweet, sweet boy..." _He could almost feel the wandering hands, the rough feel of the stubble on his innocent skin...

Ace felt the woman's hand fall from his face, her body laying limp and lifeless. Dogmeat whimpered and licked Ace's hand, and Ace felt bile crawl up his throat once more. A tall shadow fell over him, and he looked up dizzily to see Charon. "Are you alright?" The giant ghoul asked, his raspy voice breaking the silence.

"I need a fix," Ace finally replied, and stood up meekly, ignoring the ghoul's gesture.

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><p><strong>R&amp;R!<strong>


	3. Nothing Special

**AN: **Sorry this took forever, been busy, ugh. The next chapter should be quicker than this one, this one is just a tad long for my tastes.

Thanks for the reviews!

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><p>Normally they would have taken a detour to avoid raider camps, such as the one thirty feet or so away from them. Charon's eyes wandered to Ace as he peered through the scope on his rifle, then set it aside to take another swig of his whiskey. "Bet they got a shit ton of ammo and loot there," He said with a slight slur. His face was a little flushed from his slight intoxication, Charon had noticed. The sunlight broke through the clouds and the teen's grimey green hair reflected in the light. The stocky ghoul crossed his arms, milky eyes shifting around the camp and he began to contemplate how much ammo and supplies they had. Things didn't look in their favor, and they definetly didn't have the means to take down a camp like this, or atleast it seemed a little irrational.<p>

The raiders had holed up in the side of a rocky cliff near a small collection of mountains. There were a few shoddy shacks, a small lookout tower, and a wooden fence around the edges of the place. There weren't many of them, but their makeshift defences were enough to give them an advantage. Ace steadied the rifle in his hands and silently picked off the raider in the tower. All of the raiders suddenly stirred up like angry ants in a disturbed mound, causing a slight chuckle from Ace. Huffing some Psycho and taking off for the camp, the dog followed briskly at his feet and Charon followed with a set of curses that he mumbled to himself.

Something nagged at the back of Charon's mind, an uneasy feeling lingering in his stomach. There was something odd about this place, a heaviness in the air. He scanned the horizon for something tangible to give substance to the feeling, but found nothing. He tried to shake the feeling as they stormed through the front of the compound, Ace laughing excitedly as a raider bitch gasped in suprise at the trio. Ace took his machete and carved into the side of a raider's neck, who fell gurgling and convulsing on the ground. The sound of gunfire broke through the air, an assault rifle no doubt, and Ace wedged himself inbetween a nook inside two of the shacks. He waited eagerly as the raider crept inbetween the alley, whistling a little. "Come on out, I just want to play!" He taunted, chains jingling on his clothes as he inched through the alleyway.

Ace felt a sneer growing on his face and held back an excited laugh as the raider passed by him, without even detecting the skinny fiend. He silently slipped out of the hiding place and struck the raider on the back of the head, hearing the bone crack, and a little blood squirted onto his face. The raider fell helplessly to the ground, and the blood began to trickle down Ace's face. He slipped his tongue out of his mouth and licked a little of it, the salty taste tingling his tongue. He heard the familiar sound of Charon's gun and Dogmeat's snarls, and deemed the rest of the raiders dead. He was jittery now, his eyes wildly moving about the bloodied compound. He pulled bullets and other trinkets off of the bodies before making his way to the ghoul.

Charon still looked around the compound, breathing a little heavy from the adrenaline rush. "What's wrong?" Ace asked in a sing-song voice. "They're all dead." He stepped forward to the ghoul, eyes dilated as they searched Charon's sunken in face. "I thought I heard something," He spoke up finally, then put his gun away. "I guess I'm just a getting a little jittery." He looked down at the addict, who still stared him in the face. "Yes?" Charon asked, uneasy at the prolonged eye contact. Ace's mouth tugged on the sides into a lopsided smile, the drugs clearly heavily toying with his emotions. "Charon," Ace said drearily, teetering on his unsteady feet. The tall ghoul reached out an arm and steadied the green haired teen, who sank against Charon's chest.

The ghoul cringed, biting his lip. "Get a hold of yourself." He hissed through cracked lips, and Ace slunk back, blue eyes darkly flickering down the ghoul. Dogmeat let out a low growl rise in his throat, and his hair stood up down his back as he started edging around nervously. Ace dizzily watched the dog, and they all froze as an inhuman roar burst through the compound. "A behemoth?" Ace said wide-eyed, recognizing the sound. They looked up at the cliff and his presumption was unfortunately correct as one came tearing down the cliffside, right for the gangly pair of misfits. The earth shook as it tore around insanely and smashed into the little shacks. Spying a missile launched laying next to a dead raider, Ace made a mad dash across the compound. The behemoth roared angrily as the teen dashed by it, and gobs of drool oozed from its' mouth. It raised an arm, getting ready to strike the teen into oblivion, and Ace felt his heart thump madly in his chest.

_Am I going to die? _The thought unfortunately rang through his head, and he froze in panic. The beast's arm lifting up in the air whipped the wind around for a moment, and he could feel it getting ready to collide with him. All of a sudden he felt something heavy knock him off of his footing and he slammed to the ground. Dirt picked up around him and he shut his eyes in an attempt to block out the horrifying sight before him. He heard the fist collide with something and heard Charon cry out in pain, and his eye flew open as he watched the tall ghoul get tossed like a ragdoll into some rubble by the shacks. Dogmeat was snarling and snapping at the monster's heels and it's attention shifted to the dog rather than the two currently incapacited beings. Ace finally jumped to his feet and practically flew to the missile launcher. He steadied himself and aimed for the behemoth's head, and flicked the trigger. The rocket went sailing into the air and crashed into the mutant's head, causing it to roar out in pain, Ace hoped. It inhaled deeply and turned it's horrifying gaze to the teen as he hurriedly reloaded the launcher. Another rocket went crashing into the monster's skull, and Ace watched in awe as it wobbled and gushed blood like a geyser, then finally fell to the ground with a deafening roar. Ace dropped the launcher and started shuddering, either the drugs or fear finally taking a hold of him.

He started laughing and ran over to the beast, sending his foot into the side of it's stomach. "You're dead!" He screamed, swinging his leg back and kicking it again. "Fucking dead, man!" He rested his hands on his knees, another dizzy spell sweeping over him. "Charon did you see that?" He said excitedly, and turned to see the ghoul on the ground, a peice of one of the shacks inside his belly. He fell silent, and ran over to the pile of rubble where the ghoul was. Realizing he had to get him out of the sun, he started to lift him up. Damn, was he heavy!

Ace gritted his teeth and made way to one of the shacks he hoped the raiders hadn't filled with corpses. There had to be atleast one they slept in, right? He looked around and realized this wasn't the safest place to camp out, but there were no other options at this point. He pulled open a shack door and luckily found a mattress on the floor, in which he as carefully as he could laid down the ghoul.

He let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, and began slowly pulling the peice of wood from the ghoul's belly. Blood trickled and flowed from it, and he realized he had to sew up the wound. He began to pull off the ghoul's leather armour and traced his eyes along the ghoul's abdomen. The thought of Charon actually being dead crossed his mind, and he swallowed hard. How could you even tell if a ghoul was alive? Was there a heartbeat? He didn't really know. Ace pressed his head against the ghoul's soft chest, and the heartbeat was there. Slow, but steadily beating. He pushed a stray bang behind his ear, and pulled a needle and some thread from his bag to mend the wounds.

Charon woke up a few hours later, and tried to remember what had happened. He hissed when he sat up and pulled a blanket off of himself and staring down, noticed the stitches. For a drug addict, he hadn't done a bad job of sewing him up. His eyes searched around the room for the teen, and stopped when he spotted him curled up in the corner, shivering. Charon sighed, muttering under his breath. "Fucking idiot."

He swore common sense was something God opted out on giving the damn kid. "Hey," Charon spoke up, his normally scratchy voice even worse from being thick with sleep. Ace stirred, and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Huh?" He said finally, trying to wake up. "How are you feeling?" The teen asked, sitting up and popping his back.

The ghoul felt a little strange, unaccustomed to someone actually interested in his welfare. "I'm..." He cleared his throat, then noticed how pale Ace looked. "You're freezing." He stated, rubbing his temples. Ace didn't reply, merely shrugging. "I was a little busy, and then... Kind of crashed." He twiddled his fingers together and bit his lip, and Charon noticed how much he looked like a little kid. A sigh escaped his cracked lips.

"You can come up here if you want."

Ace looked up, eyes hollow looking. The Psycho had really done a number on him this time, he looked completely drained. Charon's body practically radiated heat, ghouls naturally being a little warmer than humans. Ace swallowed hard as he crept over to the bed and crawled in beside him. Having traveled many a time in the wastes, Charon was used to being forced to huddle for warmth in desperate situations. He thought nothing of this really, but couldn't get over how forlorn Ace looked.

"What's troubling you?" He asked after a long, eerie silence.

"Thank you," Ace said softly, his voice wavering. "For saving me."

Charon thought nothing of it, "I'm your bodygaurd." He said simply, and turned to stare at the decaying shack walls.

"Yeah." Ace said after quite some time, and he cringed a little, ceasing the conversation.

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><p><strong>R&amp;R!<strong>


	4. Bent and Broken

**AN: **You know you're super lame when you and your co-worker are singing the Tunnel Snakes song at work and dancing fiftes style in the kitchen.

Baaah, no life. Thanks for the reviews, favorites, and whatnot.

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><p>The kisses were rough to the point they left marks on his skin. He shuddered underneath the touches and wriggled around on the mattress until hands gripped his wrists and pinned him down. "Has Butch been hurting you again?" He asked gruffly, noticing some bruises as he pulled the zipper to his Vault suit down. He shut his eyes tightly, heart shuddering in his chest. If this was supposed to be normal, why did it feel so wrong and unnatural? He bit his lip as James latched onto his neck and sucked roughly, causing the small teen to moan. He could hear his father tugging the zipper to his own suit and the sound of it being undone made goosebumps crawl up his arms. His father roughly gripped the back of his long, thick green hair and tugged him forward, and...<p>

Ace awoke coughing and shaking violently, his shirt stuck to his chest, and he realized he was drenched in sweat. He felt hands on him and realized he was pressed against something warm, a body perhaps. Feeling like a caged rabbit, he began to struggle and kick to get whatever it was off of him, and froze when Charon's voice rang out. "Dammit kid you're ripping my stitches!" Ace stopped and felt himself go limp. Charon's breath came in short, wheezed gasps. "You're running a fever, I've been trying to break it." He justified himself, not releasing his grip. "Just calm down."

This was out of the norm for Ace, being ordered around by his supposed servant. He recalled first buying Charon, waving the contract in his face before he could even say, "Talk to Ahzrukhal." Ace had sneered up at the ghoul and pointed to the paper, the words dripping from his mouth like venom. "You belong to me now, Charon."

Ace lay back, hearing the ghoul's strong heartbeat thumping in his ears and the raspy way the ghoul took each breath, almost feeling soothed. He recalled the nightmare and felt bile crawl up his throat, and struggled to control his weak stomach. He swallowed hard, trying to relax, when the fiery-haired ghoul spoke up. "You were talking in your sleep." His arms were loosely wrapped around the teen, and Ace didn't reply, sweat running down his forehead.

"This is not the first time you have done that, either. Is there anything you wish to tell me?" Ace felt himself tense up and anger boiled in his belly, as he practically barked out the words, "None of your damn business." Yet, he did not budge from the ghoul's loose embrace of sorts.

"I apologize for asking." Charon said in the same hollow tone he had always addressed Ace in. They stayed curled up beside each other for quite some time, neither speaking. A calm feeling had replaced the usual uneasiness the pair usually felt together, and Ace welcomed it, eventually falling into a dreamless sleep.

They had delivered the Sugar Bombs to the ghouls in a week's time, Ace giving Charon a little time to heal. They had restocked on ammunition, the raiders having had quite a stash. It was usual business between the pair, not a word shared between them about the night before. Pushing the heavy doors to Metro open, the chemicals within the lab wafted through the air and burned Ace's eyes slightly. Dogmeat whined and refused to enter the Chem lab, and sat outside the door with a low whine.

"Here," Ace said nonchalantly, dropping the box of cereal onto the table with a satisfied smirk. The ghoul had nodded hastily, pushing his glasses up his decaying nose with a single finger as he calculated how many caps he owed the green-haired teen. "I want some of your product," Ace finally spoke up after the caps had been handed to him and stuffed away in his bag. The ghoul had laughed, "That shit will kill your kind. No deal, errand boy. You just keep the boxes flowing and we'll stick to our little deal." However he had shortly changed his mind and been more than happy to give him Ultra-Jet when the teen had pulled a grenade from his pocket and threatened to blow his little operation sky high.

Clutching the drugs with a wide smile on his face, the teen stomped around excitedly, trinkets on his belt jingling. The sun was gleaming and shining on the broken windows in the abandoned buildings by Metro, not a soul stirring outside. Ace stretched his arms up and popped his back, turning a lopsided smile to the reddish ghoul, who stood stiffly not too far from him. "Are you hungry? Because I'm starving." Charon snorted, not used to the chem addict stopping to take the time to eat. Arms crossed, he watched as the teen sat down on a bench and began to shuffle through his bag for a meal. Pulling a bag of chips from his pack and two Nuka-Colas, he looked satisfied until he realized he needed to feed Dogmeat, too. The dog sat next to him, thumping his tail against the ground and waiting patiently for his food. Ace sighed and ran a hand through his thick hair, finally finding a few chunks of leftover meat. "Here," He said, tossing it to the ground. The dog stuffed the food into its' and searched for a more private place to eat.

Handing a Nuka-Cola to Charon, he pulled the cap off of his own with his teeth and began to guzzle it down. Charon drank with more reserve, his milky eyes scanning the horizon as usual. Ace stuffed his face, and between bites asked the ghoul if he had desired anything to eat. Charon shook his head and took another swig of his soda, licking the excess off of his lips. "You're not really going to take that shit, are you?"

Ace looked up at the ghoul, a little shocked. "What did you just say?" He stood up from the bench, going toe-to-toe with the ghoul. Charon didn't budge, eyes meeting with Ace's soft blue. "Don't ever tell me what to do, you fucking zombie!" Charon's lips curled for a moment, not recalling ever telling the ignorant addict what to do. The reddish ghoul's eyes squinted in the light as a cloud rolled past the sun and exposed it. Ace still stood in front of the ghoul, and Charon presumed he was trying his best to assert himself. He hadn't realized they had been competing for who was apparently the leader, wasn't it obvious?

"Listen," Charon started to say, and was completely taken by suprise when Ace had slugged him in the face. Ace smirked as the ghoul stepped back a little from the shock more than the initial force of the hit, but he didn't lose his footing. He clutched his face in annoyance, staring at the green-haired brat before him. This was getting a little rediculous. "Hit me back, you fucking corpse." Ace sneered, his blue eyes dark and slightly tinged with malice.

"Ace," Charon began as calmly as he could before the quick little bastard slugged him in the face again, now apparently making a game out of this. The flesh was a little firmer than Ace had presumed, he had always imagined the ghoul's face would feel soft and damp, like a fresh corpse.

If Ace had ordered him to, then so be it. Charon struck Ace across the side of his face and sent him to the ground with a thud, then spat in disgust. "Happy now?" He said, obviously trying to keep his calm demeanor.

He was a little surpised when Ace hopped back to his feet and retaliated by kicking the ghoul as hard as he could in the stomach, and Charon grabbed his leg, fighting the urge to gasp for breath that wouldn't replinish his lungs for some time. He threw the teen to the ground again and kicked him roughly in the ribs to ensure the little bastard would stay down. His lungs struggled for breath and he finally wheezed, "You done yet?"

He noticed Ace's shoulders moving back and forth and at first, and presumed him to be silently sobbing. Charon stared down at the teen in a mix of disgust and bewilderment as he slowly pulled himself from the ground, blood trickling from his mouth an nose. The fucking kid was laughing, silently, but laughing. The wind had probably been taken from him too, but it didn't stop him from peering up at Charon with a twisted smile on his face, as blood seeped from the places inbetween his teeth. He peered up at him from the ground, eyes hidden behind his green locks, and finally pulled himself to his feet, forgetting the fight had even been initiated as he returned to his meager meal on the bench.

Charon frowned over at the teen as he rubbed his face, feeling a little numb. It would probably swell up tomorrow, more than likely. Their were no apologies exchanged, and neither spoke for the rest of the night. Ace lit up a cigarette after some time, smirking to himself. Charon leaned against a building nearby, keeping watch as he always did.

Things couldn't keep up like this for much longer, that was for sure. Contract or not, he wasn't going to be smacked around by the little idiot anymore. Charon spat again, inhaling the tained air and waiting to depart once more on another pointless journey.

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><p><strong>R&amp;R!<strong>


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